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The Most Ancient of Minorities: The Jews of Italy
Contributor(s): Pugliese, Stanislao (Author)
ISBN: 0313318956     ISBN-13: 9780313318955
Publisher: Praeger
OUR PRICE:   $94.05  
Product Type: Hardcover
Published: March 2002
Qty:
Annotation: A volume of essays that examine more than 2,000 years of Italian Jewish history, from ancient Rome to contemporary developments concerning assimilation, literature, and the recent trial of a former SS captain implicated in crimes against humanity. The essays make clear that the Italian Jews have a unique history in Europe. A Jewish colony existed in Rome 200 years before the birth of Christ; the Eternal City therefore represents the oldest Jewish community in the Western world. Successive waves of immigrants created dozens of Jewish communities on the peninsula. Depending on the time and the place, Italian Jews could expect tolerance, discrimination, persecution, or outright violence. Still, they fared better than their brethren in other parts of Europe. Because of their long history on the peninsula, the volume covers an astonishing variety of subjects: from legal discrimination and historical sources to Jewish dancing masters in the Renaissance; from architecture to contradictory interpretations of the Holocaust; from the special section on the linguistic and moral power of Primo Levi to child-rearing manuals of 17th-century Livorno. In addition, two Holocaust survivors recount their experiences in an extraordinary section, "The Language of the Witness." Engaging essays for scholars, students, and other researchers interested in Italian Studies and the roles the peninsula's Jewish population played through history.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe - Italy
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies - General
- History | Holocaust
Dewey: 945.004
LCCN: 2001040593
Series: Contributions in Sociology,
Physical Information: 1.13" H x 6.22" W x 9.52" (1.58 lbs) 416 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Italy
- Topical - Holocaust
- Ethnic Orientation - Jewish
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

A volume of essays that examine more than 2,000 years of Italian Jewish history, from ancient Rome to contemporary developments concerning assimilation, literature, and the recent trial of a former SS captain implicated in crimes against humanity.

The essays make clear that the Italian Jews have a unique history in Europe. A Jewish colony existed in Rome 200 years before the birth of Christ; the Eternal City therefore represents the oldest Jewish community in the Western world. Successive waves of immigrants created dozens of Jewish communities on the peninsula. Depending on the time and the place, Italian Jews could expect tolerance, discrimination, persecution, or outright violence. Still, they fared better than their brethren in other parts of Europe. Because of their long history on the peninsula, the volume covers an astonishing variety of subjects: from legal discrimination and historical sources to Jewish dancing masters in the Renaissance; from architecture to contradictory interpretations of the Holocaust; from the special section on the linguistic and moral power of Primo Levi to child-rearing manuals of 17th-century Livorno. In addition, two Holocaust survivors recount their experiences in an extraordinary section, The Language of the Witness. Engaging essays for scholars, students, and other researchers interested in Italian Studies and the roles the peninsula's Jewish population played through history.